6/25/13

United States Govt. Spies On Peaceful Assemblies

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall
not be violated,...

The United States Government has violated these Constitutional Protections for decades. It needs to stop.

"The
Patriot Act gives the Feds the power to break into private homes, snoop
around, steal or plant items, and them leave the property without ever
notifying the owner that a search took place. They call these "Sneak
and Peek" searches, and the vast majority are for non-violent crime.
Less than 1% was terror-related."

Anti-War Activists Targeted as 'Domestic Terrorists'

Shocking new revelations come as activists prepare to sue the U.S. military for unlawful spying

- Sarah Lazare, staff writer

Port Militarization Resistance (Photo: Brendan Maslauskas Dunn)

Anti-war activists who were infiltrated and spied on by the military for years have now been placed on the domestic terrorist list, they announced Monday. The shocking revelation comes as the activists prepare to sue the U.S. military for unlawful spying.
"The
fact that a peaceful activist such as myself is on this domestic
terrorist list should be cause for concern for other people in the US,"
declared Brendan Maslauskas Dunn, plaintiff in the lawsuit. "We've seen
an increase in the buildup of a mass surveillance state under the Obama
and Bush Administrations."
The discovery is the latest development in a stunning saga that
exposes vast post-9/11 spying networks in which military, police, and
federal agencies appear to be in cahoots.
Documents declassified in 2009 reveal that military informant John
Towery, going by the name 'John Jacob,' spent over two years
infiltrating and spying on Olympia, Washington anti-war and social
justice groups, including Port Militarization Resistance, Students for a
Democratic Society, the Industrial Workers of the World, and Iraq
Veterans Against the War.
Towery admitted
to the spying and revealed that he shared information with not only the
military, but also the police and federal agencies. He claimed that he
was not the only spy.
The activists, who blast the snooping as a violation of their First
and Fourth Amendment rights, levied a lawsuit against the military in
2009.
"The spying resulted in plaintiffs and others being targeted for
repeated harassment, preemptive and false arrest, excessive use of
force, and malicious prosecution," reads a statement by the plaintiffs.
The Obama Administration attempted to throw out the litigation, but
in December 2012 the 9th Circuit Court ruled that the case could
continue.
When the plaintiffs were preparing their deposition for the courts
two weeks ago, they were shocked to discover that several Olympia
anti-war activists were listed on the domestic terrorist list, including
at least two plaintiffs in the case.
The revelations prompted them to amend their lawsuit to include charges that the nonviolent activists were unlawfully targeted as domestic terrorists.
"The breadth and intensity of the spying by U.S. Army officials and
other law enforcement agents is staggering," said Larry Hildes, National
Lawyers Guild attorney who filed the lawsuit in 2009. "If nonviolent
protest is now labeled and treated as terrorism, then democracy and the
First Amendment are in critical danger."
Plaintiffs say this case takes on a new revelevance as vast NSA dragnet spying sparks widespread outrage.
"I think that there is a huge potential for the case to set
precedent," declared plaintiff Julianne Panagacos. "This could have a
big impact on how the U.S. military and police are able to work
together."
She added, "I am hopeful we will win."

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.Benjamin FranklinOne has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.Martin Luther King

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."Abraham Lincoln

“If tyranny and oppression come to this land it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”James Madison